The present invention relates to a novel and improved decorative apparatus making use of a filmy flow of fluid or membraneous flow of fluid, and more particularly to a decorative apparatus employing a rectifying member in order to get a stable and beautiful filmy flow of fluid (hereinafter referred to as "fluid-film").
In order to obtain a beautiful decorative apparatus which makes use of a fluid-film, it is quite essential to form a stable and transparent fluid-film with uniform thickness and smooth surface as if it were made of glass or the like. And cheapness and easy maintenance are another essential requirements of the decorative apparatus which is preferably usable in restaurants, teahouses or private houses.
One of the previous proposals discloses an apparatus 2, as shown in FIG. 1, comprising a funnel 4 formed with a circular gap 6 of small clearance. A fluid supplied from a nozzle 8 by means of a feed means 10 having a feed pipe 12, pump 14, filter 16 and valve 18, on passing through the circular gap 6, takes a shape of three dimensional fluid-film. However, the apparatus 2 has some disadvantages. The small circular gap 6 is apt to catch a dust and small sand, and is often obstructed by them. Furthermore, in order to obtain a uniformly and suitably separated circular gap 6 for passing through the fluid, it should be very carefully and accurately manufactured, since otherwise stable and beautiful fluid-film is not obtainable as a result the apparatus becomes quite expensive.
In one particular apparatus, shown in FIG. 2, an attempt was made to eliminate the disadvantages of the aforesaid apparatus 2, by substituting a nozzle 22 faced downwardly and connected directly to a feed pipe 12 and an expanding means 24 which is located beneath and opposing to the nozzle 22, for a funnel 4 with circular gap 6 and a nozzle 8 shown in FIG. 1. Although such arrangement in which the fluid is poured onto the expanding means directly from the nozzle 22 through the feed pipe 12, makes it easier to construct the apparatus 20, it is quite difficult to get a stable and beautiful fluid-film with uniform thickness and smooth surface. The fluid-film obtained in such apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 2 is uneven in thickness, rugged in surface, dimmed and breakable. In other words, it is readily turned into a waterdrop and often divided into some pieces. Besides, the conditions such as a distance L between the nozzle 22 and the expanding means 24 and a quantity of fluid per minute, in which the fluid-film (even it is not so beautiful as described before) is obtainable, are extremely limited, as will be evident as the description proceeds.
As a result of careful and steady experiments of many years in order to improve the defects in the aforesaid apparatus 20, the inventors of the present invention found that the foundamental cause of such disadvantages results from a turbulency of the flow of fluid poured from the nozzle 22 onto the expanding means 24 and the turbulency originates from a flow-resistance at the nozzle 22 and the feed pipe 12 (especially at curved or cornered portion 26). They also found that the turbulency of the flow is effectively avoidable by means of an outlet means having an outlet box containing a rectifying member which can regularize the turbulent flow. During the prosecution of the experiments, the inventors found further problems to be dissolved for obtaining a stable and beautiful fluid-film:
Firstly, when the formed fluid-film is in the shape of globe or spheroid, there sometimes occurs curious phenomena. That is, the diameter of the globe or spheroid remains as it is without reference to increasing of amount of fluid per minute, or the fluid-film suddenly diminishes in size and makes thicker, even if the constant quantity of fluid is supplied thereon.
Secondly, the noise and splashes produced at the fluid-line in a tub portion of the supporting means, onto which the lower end of the fluid-film falls, are rather large or much and they should be reduced to minimum.
Thirdly, an air bubble contained in the fluid occasionally breaks the fluid-film, and therefore the air bubble should be removed perfectly from the fluid, if possible.
And the viscosity of fluid is another factor to be necessary for getting a better fluid-film.
The inventors studied out the means which can dissolve the aforesaid problems effectively, in addition to a branching means for consciously modifying or cutting partially the formed fluid-film in order to obtain a better decorative apparatus.